Chapter 2
I had wondered whether the Professor would dare to deny my… request, and had been looking forward to the next summoning with quite some curiosity until it finally happened. I would like to exaggerate and say I had to wait what felt like ages, but the truth was, I had no real sense of time when I was nowhere. Five minutes, five months, it was all the same to me.
I was excited to find that Professor Hojo had heeded my warning indeed, because when I next opened my eyes – when I next had eyes to open – it was in a rather plain office with only Sephiroth there with me, sitting behind a desk I deduced as his. Meeting his unreadable gaze, I nodded my head in greeting, "General Sephiroth."
"Valkyria", he neutrally returned.
When he didn't seem too eager to get the conversation going, I said: "I see Professor Hojo decided to let you have me after all."
His face was nigh expressionless, but I could swear there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes when he replied: "You hit where it hurt him the most. The piece of laboratory machinery you broke happened to be of the very expensive sort, not to mention rare. Replacing it will take weeks, delaying many of his experiments, and the cost of it will deal quite a blow to the Research Department's budget."
"I know", I admitted smugly. "The Professor made the mistake of allowing me to observe him working with it enough to recognize how very precious the thing was."
His eyebrow shot up in surprise. "And here I thought you were simply fortunate in your choice of target."
"It was an educated guess", I smirked.
He nodded in acknowledgement, and then decided to move on to the reason of summoning me. "After thinking the matter over, I decided it would be best I ask you if you would be agreeable to… partnering up with someone other than myself. Perhaps Genesis Rhapsodos."
I blinked, and then asked: "Genesis?" I had a vague recollection of him being one of the strongest SOLDIERs in all of Shinra at one point in time, but other than that…
"A SOLDIER 1st, one who specializes in using materia, including summons", he elaborated.
"May I ask why you are reluctant to have possession of my materia yourself?" I asked.
"I have found summons to suit my fighting style poorly, and have so far preferred not to have any", he readily explained. "And a being like you… It would be remiss of me to keep you to myself only to leave your materia to gather dust."
This had me wondering… "Did the Professor tell you of my abilities?"
He blinked. "I did not ask."
I gave him a soft smile, "Then perhaps you shouldn't be so hasty to deem the two of us a bad fit." It was obvious that he could see my point, so I continued: "My power lays in shielding against attacks of both physical and magical in nature, and taking the resulting energy into myself for me to use as I see fit. I'm sure you, yourself, need little protection, but if I were to accompany you into battle, I could easily protect your men or civilians from both the enemy and any possible backlash from your attacks on the foe." He was starting to see the benefit of having me around, I noted, and pressed forward: "A man of your power… I'm sure it's not often you can let loose without fearing 'friendly fire'. Besides, if this Genesis is in the habit of using materia, then there is already serious drain to his MP reserves. To add me on top of that… Well, he would not be able to summon me very often, or he would have to cut back on every other materia he likes to use."
"Summoning you did cost more than I had expected", Sephiroth admitted thoughtfully, "Though keeping the materia active is less of a drain than I had thought it would be."
"Out of curiosity", and I was curious, "How long do you think you could keep me summoned?"
"If the drain remains at this level, and as long as I refrain from using other materia, I would say ten hours."
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That is quite impressive." The best of the SOLDIERs Hojo had tasked with summoning me had barely reached the one-hour mark, and that was with the ethers the Professor had handed them to extend the time he had to try and squeeze usable data out of me. Of course, they had all only received one ether each, since apparently they weren't good for your health in large quantities. "Even if you were to decide you needn't my assistance in battle, I would be quite content with being summoned occasionally out of battle, when it suits you. I have no real desire for violence, after all."
He eyed me blankly, for a moment, and then said: "You are quite strange, for a summon."
"In more ways than one, I imagine", I agreed, with a smirk of genuine amusement. I couldn't say for the other summons, but I would be surprised to find their circumstances to be anything like mine.
He regarded me in silence again before asking: "So you would prefer to stay in my possession then?"
"Yes", I replied. "As long as it is no great imposition on you, of course."
He nodded slowly, "Very well then."
When it became clear that he really hadn't the slightest idea of where to go from there, I looked towards the large windows to my right and told him: "I would be much obliged if you were to allow me to remain for a while."
He nodded again, "Of course."
I walked over to the windows – peripherally aware that he had turned his attention to the pile of paperwork on his desk – and had my first look at the city of Midgar. The sky was overcast, depressingly gray. I could see a reactor – one of several, I knew – at the edge of the plate pushing thick smoke into the air in the distance, and wondered whether sun ever could grace the people of Midgar with its light and warmth through the heavy pollution in the air. Sephiroth's office was high above the plate, the people bustling on the streets only tiny little specks to my eyes.
The view was… different from what I had ever seen before. Beautiful, in a bizarre sort of way. I was captivated by it, so much so, that even the occasional visitor to the General's office couldn't tear my eyes from it for long. Eventually though, I decided I had had enough for the moment, and turned my attention to the General. When I found him deeply focused on the document he was reading, I took a moment to appraise my surroundings.
The office was dressed in neutral colors, dull off-white and gray, mostly. There were no paintings or pictures on the wall. There was a row of filing cabinets by the wall across from the windows, and a side table with a large printer on it. The desk was by the back wall of the room with Sephiroth seated in his black leather chair with his back against the wall and with his sword safely on the rack on the wall behind him. In front of the desk there were two chairs for visitors, they too of black leather. Other than that, there were only the boring lamp on the ceiling and the dull gray curtains hanging on both sides of the windows. Just looking at the room it was obvious Sephiroth had little desire for frivolous comforts.
Finished with looking the place over, I meandered over to the desk and when Sephiroth made no move to stop me, idly browsed through the nearest pile, the 'unfinished' pile, by the looks of it. Just a quick glance told me that the papers were in no particular order. Requisition forms waiting for acceptance, progress reports on the new recruits, mission reports, company newsletters and so on. All in one unorganized pile. I frowned. And then realized Sephiroth was watching me with an unreadable look. I asked him: "You don't have a secretary?" Because it very much looked to me like he needed one.
"I decided I am better off without one after the fourth secretary the HR department assigned me", he replied.
He had had four secretaries and none of them had been a good fit? "May I ask in what way you found them lacking, exactly?"
He was reluctant to discuss the matter, I could see it, though I couldn't quite read the reason from his face. "They were a constant disruption and inefficient in their work."
Which told me next to nothing. I decided against pressing him for details, however, and tapping a finger to the unfinished pile I asked him instead: "Do you mind if I sort these?"
His eyebrow rose slightly, and he gestured in encouragement, "Have at it."
I shot him a quick smile, grabbed the pile and planted my ass on one of the two visitors' chairs. I pulled the other one closer with my foot around one of its legs and then began going through the papers. I had always been an organized person, receiving satisfaction from putting things into a logical, easy to manage order, and so, to my great satisfaction, not half an hour later I had three neat piles on the chair next to me and two more on the armrest of the chair I was sitting on, sorted by the subject matter and date, with the ones I judged urgent on top of each pile.
I gathered up the papers and walked around the desk. His eyes rose to meet mine as I walked over, and then dropped to the papers as I lay them neatly on the desk. I gave him a quick summary of what each pile contained and the principle I had used in sorting them. When I finished, he locked eyes with me again and said: "Thank you." I smiled, but said nothing, and when he looked to be considering something, I waited until he spoke: "There are some reports that need to be taken up to Director Lazard's office…"
"I would be happy to take them", I was quick to agree to the implied request.
He reached to the right side of his desk for one of the smaller piles and handed it to me. "The Director's office is directly above."
"I'll ask for directions if I get lost", I promised half-jokingly.
He nodded and turned his attention back to the report before him. I took it as the dismissal that it was and walked out the door. There was a small room meant for a secretary that I had to walk through to get to the main hallway. By the looks of it the whole floor was full of offices for the higher-ranking SOLDIERs. There weren't many. The large number plate on the wall next to the elevator told me that this was the 50th floor. I elected for the stairs, since it was quicker to take them one floor up than to wait for the elevator car that could have been all the way down for all I knew.
Entering the 51st floor, I was met with a secretary. "How can I help you?" She asked after giving me a once over. The way she turned up her little nose at me told me exactly what she thought of my appearance.
"I have paperwork for Director Lazard from the General", I replied with the kind of robotic monotone that I knew tended to creep people out. Especially people like her.
The expression on her face practically screamed 'Oh really?' and her desire to turn me away, and how she felt about the fact that she really didn't dare to, not if there was a chance I really was there on the General's orders.
She pressed the button of the intercom and said: "Director, a messenger with paperwork from the General for you."
"Let him in", came the reply, and with a poorly faked smile she waved me toward the door past her.
I didn't bother to acknowledge her pitiful attempt at politeness as I walked past her and into the office. The office was larger than Sephiroth's – not unexpected – and somehow just as impersonal in décor. How dull.
Director Lazard turned out to be much younger and much prettier than I had expected. His hair was neat and blonde, and both his features and his attire had a noble air to them. He wore his surprise honestly on his face for all the world to see. "And who might you be, Miss? I don't believe I've seen you before…"
"I am Valkyria", I introduced myself. "Summon of General Sephiroth."
He looked at me, befuddled, "Summon, you say..?"
I gave him a bland smile, "Yes", walked over and set the paperwork on his desk, "The General sent me to bring these to you."
He blinked. "Rather unusual use of a summon, isn't it?"
"I am a rather unusual summon", I replied somewhat dryly.
"Valkyria, you said?" He checked, and at my nod made a notation on a notebook that lay open for the very purpose. "Do you foresee assisting General Sephiroth becoming a regular occurrence?"
"Am I going to be substituting for a secretary for him, you mean", I read between the lines with some amusement and replied: "Perhaps. That would depend on the General, would it not?"
He nodded thoughtfully, "That it would." Then, more decisively he continued: "Well, if that was all, then I wouldn't dream of keeping you."
I inclined my head and left without further word. Turned out that by the time I returned to Sephiroth's office he had thought of more work for me to do: the filing cabinets in his office were filled to the brim and needed to be gone through and all the older files to be moved to the SOLDIER archives that were on the 51st floor across from Director Lazard's office. I was happy to take on the little project.
O O O
No simpering looks and pathetic attempts at enticement. No insistent chatter. No nervous stuttering, no frightened glances. Just undisruptive, quiet, efficient work. Was it any wonder that after the quality work yesterday he had been eager to summon her again today – the day after – to offer her the option of assisting him? He was finally seeing the benefit of having a secretary. From a summon. He could see the irony.
"Sephiroth!" He could hear the sweet voice of Genesis calling as the man approached the open door of his office. "What's this I hear about you getting a new secretary?"
Genesis appeared in the doorway and Sephiroth could tell the exact moment the man felt the veil of power that surrounded Valkyria by the way his focus sharpened and muscles tensed.
And then he was in motion.
He crossed the space between the doorway and where Valkyria stood by the filing cabinets and swung his blood red rapier at her. The attack never hit its mark though, crashing into a small translucent barrier instead. In the same flurry of motion Valkyria lunged at her attacker, smashing Genesis into the wall next to the filing cabinets with one hand around the man's neck and another around the wrist of his sword arm.
Genesis was preparing to activate one of his materia when Sephiroth brought everything to a halt with one sharply spoken word: "Stop."
"It's not human", Genesis hissed with what little breath he had with the hand pressing against his windpipe.
When the woman made no move to let the SOLDIER 1st go, Sephiroth pointedly said: "Valkyria."
She inclined her head in acknowledgement and pulled back. With one last expressionless look at her attacker she walked over to Sephiroth and settled to stand at his right shoulder.
Returning his attention back to Genesis, gesturing to the glowing red orb in his bangle Sephiroth explained: "Valkyria is a summon."
"Why in the name of the Goddess would you have it out while alone in your office!?"
"'It' possesses at minimum human level intellect and deserves to be addressed accordingly", Valkyria said with venom in her voice.
The series of emotions on Genesis' face was quite impressive. First there was surprise at hearing a summon speak. Then he sneered at her, making it quite clear what he thought of her claim of having equal or even superior intelligence. And then there was suspicion, and his sharp gaze turned to Sephiroth. "Wait, this is your new secretary?"
Sephiroth sighed. "She's not my secretary, though she has been assisting me in my duties."
"Talk about misuse of materia", Genesis muttered. Shooting a mocking look at Valkyria, he snidely added: "Though I suppose it isn't good for anything else than grunt work."
Sephiroth noticed her take a small sharp step forward – just itching to show the man exactly what she was capable of, no doubt – and hastened to intervene. "Genesis", he said admonishingly.
Valkyria's eyes snapped to him and she, with no little amount of incredulity, asked: "Wait, this is Genesis Rhapsodos?" The eyebrow that rose practically screamed 'This is who you wanted me to work with? Really?'
"Point taken", Sephiroth replied, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. Perhaps giving the arrogant man a summon that demanded – and deserved – respect wasn't his brightest idea.
They both turned their full attention back to Genesis when they heard the red-haired man breathe out a hissing breath of obvious irritation, and then snarl: "I can't believe you're all chummy with a summon!"
"Chummy?" Sephiroth repeated, stunned, and then shot a quizzical look at Valkyria, who simply shook her head to tell him she was just as mystified.
"Argh!" Genesis nonverbally voiced his annoyance and frustration. He looked like he wasn't too far from starting to rip out his own hair.
The General decided he had better things to do than keep entertaining Genesis' tantrum. Dismissively, he told his fellow SOLDIER 1st: "Unless you had a reason for invading my office beyond inquiring about rumors of a secretary, I would like to ask you to leave. I have paperwork that require my full attention."
Genesis opened his mouth, then closed it, eyebrow twitching, and then ended up rather passionately saying: "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."
Valkyria blinked, confused.
Sephiroth sighed, "Loveless, act three." To Valkyria he clarified: "It's a book of poetry that has also been adapted to a play, vastly popular in Midgar, for some reason."
"For… For some reason!?" Genesis spluttered in outrage. And then shrieked: "For some reason!? Loveless is a classic! An unparalleled masterpiece, literary art at its finest! How dare you cheapen it by - !?"
Sephiroth decided he had had quite enough and cut him off. "I have a large pile of paperwork that I could be doing."
The fiery red-head visibly tried to calm down, and then sneered, "Nice to know where I am on your priority list." He huffed. "Below paperwork." He swiveled on his heels and stomped out of the office muttering angrily. "Underappreciated doesn't even begin to cover it. Figures… After all, the Great General Sephiroth couldn't possibly – ", He slammed the door shut behind him and both occupants of the office were spared from the rest of the tirade.
Sephiroth glanced at the summon who gave him a dry look. "That was Genesis Rhapsodos?" She was still stuck on how Sephiroth could have possibly thought pairing her up with that man would have been a good idea. Or even a passably viable idea.
The General averted his light green eyes in a rare moment of embarrassment, turning his attention back to the papers before him to mask the little slip in composure. "You have made your point", he said, tone making clear that he considered the matter closed, and further enforced it by changing the subject: "Before we were interrupted, you were telling me about the inconsistencies in some mission reports?"
She nodded, perfectly happy to let the matter go now that she had had the chance to needle the man a little, "Yes, they are minor, but require further inquiries from these two SOLDIER 3rds - "
O O O
It was just two days later that I met the third of the three SOLDIER 1sts.
I had commandeered the desk meant for the General's secretary that was situated right outside his office in a small reception area and had taken to vetting all his visitors, judging whether they actually needed to see the General or if I could handle their business just as well. The fact that over 70% of them would have needlessly disturbed the General with their business without my intervention was just further proof to just how much the man in question was in need of a secretary or at least an assistant of some sort. How Sephiroth had gotten anything done until now was a mystery.
When the black-haired SOLDIER 1st walked into my new little kingdom, I was sitting behind my desk, going through a pile of very dull and basic reports - on the results of the training the newest SOLDIER recruits were going through – with the intent to write a neat little summary for the General that he could read immediately and then leave the reports for a more thorough perusal until a later time when he wasn't quite as swamped as he currently was. This wasn't the first report I was summarizing for the General and he had been very appreciative of my efforts so far, so despite the dullness of the task I figured it was worth the effort.
I felt the dark eyes slide over me, from boots to head and back. I was hardly the average secretary, in looks or in any other way, so the long evaluating look was hardly unwarranted. High-heeled leather boots instead of the usual classy little pumps. Tight jeans and leather top instead of a pencil skirt and a silky blouse.
Of course, the fact that I had my boot-clad feet on the desk as I lounged on the rolling chair might have had something to do with it as well.
I was determined to finish reading the page and ignored him until he cleared his throat. I held up a finger at him, and could practically feel his surprise at my... lack of respect and fawning. But he waited patiently until I finished the page about ten seconds later and finally turned my almost gold-colored eyes to meet his curious gaze while setting the report on the desk. "Yes?" I prompted.
"Um... Good morning..?" The bulky man started with a rather adorable hesitance. "I am Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER 1st class. Here to report to the General after a mission..?"
I blinked at him, face void of expression as I leisurely gave him a once over. He was... quite impressively built, something a girl could certainly appreciate. Handsome, but nowhere the level of gorgeousness that was General Sephiroth, ask any woman. Or man, for that matter. His posture screamed confidence but also lacked the sheer arrogance that Genesis Rhapsodos radiated. I figured I could learn to like him. Hell, I found myself already respecting him even though I knew very little about him. Well... I knew something about him. Including everything he had just told me.
I had been going through the files on SOLDIERs in the past couple days in my free moments, and had also come across the file that said this man had been sent on a two-week mission. Putting all that together with the way all the higher-ranking (meaning basically all 2nds and the two 1sts) came to the General for a debriefing after every even moderately significant mission, well, it was hardly rocket science.
Swinging my feet off the table and to the floor in a graceful arc, I got up to my feet and strode over to the door that I was guarding. I gave the door a quick double-tap and then swung it open without waiting for permission. The General's cat-like eyes rose to look at me from where he sat behind his desk, and I told him: "SOLDIER Hewley here for his mission debrief." He nodded, and I stepped aside, holding the door open for the visitor in question and gesturing him to go in.
Hewley nodded at me, in a what I read as 'thanks' and walked in. I looked past him and at my summoner and asked: "Do you need anything, General?"
A brief silence, and then: "Coffee for me and my friend, if you wouldn't mind, Valkyria."
I nodded, and then asked Hewley: "Sugar? Milk?" I already knew the General preferred his coffee black.
"Black is fine", the man replied, "Thank you."
I inclined my head and walked out, closing the door behind me.
O O O
A brief silence followed Valkyria's departure from the office. It was Angeal who broke the silence. "I thought you swore off secretaries."
Sephiroth took a moment to think about his reply and then said: "She is not a secretary per se." When Angeal raised an eyebrow in question, he elaborated: "Valkyria is a summon I received from a rather... reluctant Professor Hojo. A summon he created."
"A summon?" Angeal repeated in disbelief. "But she looks so... normal! Not very much like the usual secretary for sure, but she looks human!"
Sephiroth nodded, agreeing with his friend. Valkyria could pass as human for anyone who didn't know better. The only thing that could really give her away to a more keen sensed observer was the aura of power she exuded and the tell-tale brand of magic she held. "The fact remains though, that she is only held here by the magic I am constantly feeding into her summon materia", he said, holding up his left hand and showing Angeal the bangle he wore with the dimly glowing red orb of materia.
"That is..." Angeal was, frankly, speechless for a moment before finally finding the words he was looking for: "That is amazing! A summon that can be useful outside a battlefield! Genesis must be bursting with envy!"
Sephiroth huffed, "He is certainly bursting with something, but envy isn't it. The first impression he received of Valkyria wasn't exactly flattering. Nor was the impression she received from him."
Angeal cringed. "That bad, huh?" He then sighed, shaking his head in dismay. He just knew his childhood friend's hot-headedness had played a central part in the whole matter. Deciding he didn't need – nor want – to know the details, he asked: "What are her skills like, in combat that is?"
"I haven't yet had the chance to witness her in a battle scenario", Sephiroth admitted, "But she tells me her skills lie in shielding and retaliation. Apparently, whatever is shot at her, she can convert into an attack of her own."
Angeal's brow rose in surprise, "Shielding? I can't see why you would need someone providing you with shields in battle. No one in SOLDIER can even hope to so much as scratch you, I very much doubt you will ever find anyone outside of our ranks that could hope to offer you enough of a challenge for you to require someone to provide you with extra protection."
"I held the same notion", the silver-haired man nodded, and smiled slightly. "And then she suggested that perhaps she could be useful shielding not myself, but everyone else that I would otherwise have to worry about accidentally harming while engaging my enemy."
"Brilliant", Angeal breathed out, stunned. And then more excitedly exclaimed: "That is positively brilliant! That way you can focus on enjoying the fight instead of having to constantly worry about how your every action might affect the bystanders!"
There was a pleased little smile on the General's lips when he admitted: "Of course, after I found out how useful she can be outside the battlefield, I ceased even considering giving her away."
"That's certainly good to hear", the woman in question spoke from the doorway and both men's heads snapped to her direction, neither having heard her open the door. "It's nice to feel appreciated."
"Your help has been irreplaceable for these past few days", Sephiroth said as Valkyria walked over and set one mug of coffee on the edge of the desk in front of Angeal and then rounded the table to set another in front of him. Let it never be said that he didn't know how to give credit where it was due.
Valkyria tilted her head and smiled sweetly at the man she was standing next to, and told him: "It has been a pleasure assisting you, General."
"Even when the secretaries take it upon themselves to harass you?" He asked. He hadn't been very successful in ignoring the bitching Valkyria had to suffer through that had become frequent when secretaries from other offices came over to bring paperwork or messages from their superiors. He was incredibly thankful he no longer had to deal with them unless absolutely unavoidable. Valkyria was excellent at keeping them out of his sight when their business wasn't important enough to warrant being brought directly to him.
"Oh, honey", the woman chuckled with a hint of malice, "that's the best part of the whole gig. Getting to stomp on their little sensibilities and their egos... Wouldn't change it for the world."
"As long as you don't traumatize them too badly", Sephiroth said, lips twitching in amusement, despite his attempt to keep a serious face.
"Why, I would never", Valkyria purred.
One silvery eyebrow rose in disbelief, "One of them left in tears just yesterday."
She didn't even bother trying to look apologetic, "She was tarnishing the image of every woman everywhere with the way she was acting. I couldn't very well let her continue with her unsightly behavior without setting her straight, now could I?"
He shook his head and huffed in amusement.
"Um..." Two pairs of unusual eyes turned to look at Angeal. "How long have you two been working together, if I may ask?" Angeal asked, because honestly, he had never seen Sephiroth this... relaxed around anyone of the female gender. Hell, he wasn't this relaxed around most anyone, aside from Angeal himself.
Sephiroth looked at him curiously, wondering why he was asking, but answered nonetheless: "This is the fifth day I have had her helping me. Why do you ask?"
Angeal shrugged, "You seem to be getting along well, that's all. Especially in the light of your history with secretaries."
Valkyria rolled her eyes, "Those harpies are ruthless. I don't know whose bright idea it was to let them anywhere near the General, but they certainly aren't the kind of people who should be allowed to have any input in human resources."
"It was the HR department that assigned them", Sephiroth supplied.
"Well they should all be sacked for bad judgment", she said. "You shouldn't be saddled with anyone with fangirl tendencies, that's just plain cruel."
"To be fair, Sephiroth just has that effect on women", Angeal pointed out.
She huffed, "Just because a girl is faced with a panty-droppingly stunning male specimen, it is no excuse for acting like a brainless little bitch in heat." She was faced with rather weirded-out looks from both men. "What?" She asked defensively, "I'm a summon. I'm neither blind nor dead, and you would have to be one or the other – or both – to not be attracted to that", she gestured at Sephiroth's... well... everything.
Sephiroth held up his hands in surrender, "We are simply surprised by your candor."
"And the way you aren't acting like... them", Angeal added rather sheepishly.
Slightly offended at the very thought, Valkyria pouted, "I should hope not. They are a disgrace with the way they act around him."
"To be fair, it's not every single one of them", Sephiroth commented.
"The rest are too intimidated by you to swoon", Valkyria said, with no little amount of disgust, "That's even worse, especially since you have given them absolutely no reason to think you would ever treat them with anything less than perfect courtesy."
"Strong conviction for someone who has known Sephiroth for only a few days", Angeal pointed out with a good-natured smile.
Valkyria tilted her chin up proudly, "I'm an excellent judge of character."
Happy that his friend had found such a devoted assistant, Angeal was quick to agree: "I'm sure you are, I'm sure you are."
Valkyria inclined her head in thanks, and deciding she had interrupted their meeting for long enough, she turned to her summoner: "Was there anything else you needed?"
"No", the General answered. "Thank you for the coffee, Valkyria."
Waving her hand dismissively, she replied: "Anytime. I'll leave you to it." And then walked out of the office closing the door behind her.
Again, silence followed her departure. And again, it was Angeal who broke it.
"You should hold on to her. She's a treasure."
Sephiroth smiled, but said nothing.
Posted on December 12th, 2016.